In 1582, under Rājā Todar Mal, the region was included in the sarkar of Bākla, but subsequent Mahammadan rulers placed it in the province of Dacca (Dakha).

Early in the 18th century Aghā Bāqar came to possess lands in the region and established a marketplace in Buzurgumedpur pargana, which came to be known as Bakarganj, literally 'Baqar's market'.

The district was administered by a magistrate from the town of Backergunge near the junction of the Krishnakāti and Khairābād rivers, until 1801 when the headquarters were relocated to Barisāl.

[2]: 167 By the beginning of the 20th century, the district contained 16 police areas (thanas), and there were five main municipalities: Barisal, Nalchiti, Jhalakati, Patuakhali, and Pirojpur.

[3] The general aspect of the district was that of a flat even country, dotted with clusters of bamboo and arecanut palms, and intersected by a network of dark-coloured and sluggish streams.

There is not a hill or hillock in the whole district, but it derives a certain picturesque beauty from its wide expanses of cultivation, and the greenness and freshness of the vegetation.

[1] The level of the country was low with numerous streams, wetlands and shallow lakes around the margins of which, long grasses, reeds and other aquatic plants grow.

Among its many tributaries in Backergunge, the most important is the Kacha, navigable all the year round and flowing in a southerly direction for 30 km (19 mi) until it joined the Baleswar.

All the rivers in the district were subject to tidal action from the Meghna on the north, and from the Bay of Bengal on the south, and nearly all of them are navigable at high tide by country boats of all sizes.